14 killed in Afghanistan violence

Kabul: At least 14 people were killed and three wounded in separate violent attacks in Afghanistan Wednesday, the authorities said.

Ten militants and a policeman were killed while a district police chief was wounded Wednesday morning in a clash in eastern Ghazni province, Xinhua quoted an army spokesperson as saying.

"Taliban militants laid an ambush on police patrol in Andar district early morning. A gunfight took place. Army personnel arrived at the scene. The engagement left 10 militants and one policeman dead," the army spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The district police chief was slightly injured in the attack, he added.
In another attack, three civilians were killed and two others sustained injuries after a roadside bomb struck a car in Uruzgan province Wednesday.

All the victims are civilians, the officer added.
A surge in terror attacks has been witnessed in the country since mid-May when the Taliban launched a rebel offensive against Afghan security forces and NATO-led troops stationed in the country.

Afghan security forces took the full operational lead from foreign troops last year.

The Taliban insurgent group has launched several massive attacks over the past months to gain land as the Afghan forces are struggling to take over the security responsibilities from NATO-led troops by the end of this year.

More than 44,000 NATO-led coalition troops, down from the peak of 130,000 in 2010, are stationed in Afghanistan. Some 30,700 of them are Americans and the US plans to trim its forces to less than 10,000 next year.